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On
April 26, 2004, a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel ruled U.S. cotton subsidies
violate international trade rules. The decision hands a potentially major victory
to developing countries about the problem of subsidies granted by the international
trading major players - the United States of America and the European Union -
to American and European producers of agricultural products; particularly to cotton's
growers. Remember, the subsidies' issue was one of the main reason Cancun WTO
Round of Negotiations (September 10-14, 2003) collapsed.

-
Contributor's Guidelines
are here to review. Your contribution on "How African countries
/ entrepreneurs could bridge the developing gap" is welcome.Many thanks for dropping by and see
you here on June 15, 2004.
Dr. B.M. QuenumEditor
of AFRICABIZ

Starting from Issue
60, four deliveries (A - Introduction
B- Market C - Plantation's creation and D - Medium-scale industrial production
unit) deal with the production of a granulated cassava flour that is a popular
food in Africa: GARI

-
B- GARI'S MARKET IN AFRICA

Gari is a granulated,
white or yellowish product - depending on production methods. It has 10 to 15%
moisture content that permits a long conservation (up to one year) in normal atmospheric
conditions. It has a high swelling capability and can absorb up to 4 times its
volume in water. It is a popular diet eaten in may flavors:

- In sugared water. - With groundnuts and sugar, in water. - Transform
in pasta with hot water and eaten with a variety of sauces (vegetable, meats,
fish).- As supplement to beans' preparations and a variety of sauces.

In the main consumption area, 80% of
the populations eat Gari on a daily basis (together with maize flour
in Benin and Togo). The remaining portion of the populations (20%) eat
Gari twice per week. (Source: Africabiz's market analysis).

Depending
on the varieties of cultivars, the theoretical
Gari's yield per kg of fresh Cassava varies from 18% to 36% (17 cultivars
tested). That is an average of 24.1%. In reality, due to traditional production's
methods (the most practiced actually), Gari's yield per kg of fresh Cassava is
in the range of 15% to 16% (See Line A-bis on above Table).

That means
the current production of Gari is lower than the potential
one as shown on Table below, in case a quantity equal to the current total
production of cassava is industrially processed for export to other African
and international markets:

Owing to the fact that
production's yield of cassava plantations in the main consumption area are in
the range of 11
to 12 metric tons per hectare, one could imagine the huge potential existing
if cultivars producing up to 45 metric tons per hectare of fresh cassava are promoted
and cultivation techniques improved (seedling, pest control and fertilization).

Keeping
above remarks in mind and comparing figures in line
E of Table about actual consumption and the one in the last line of previous
table (about the potential Gari's production level), one sees that there is a
margin to increasing the production of Gari in the main consumption area for export
markets to garnering substantial foreign exchanges revenues.

Indeed,
considering first, the "readiness" of the flour to be used as diet's
complement (for a variety of African sauces and cooking); and, second, the long
conservation's period (up to one year in dried and normal atmospheric conditions)
- it is possible to expand the consumption's area to covering Central, Eastern
and Southern African countries. Taking into account the population
level in sub-Saharan Africa (680 million people in 2003) one calculates there
is a huge Gari market in Africa. A minimum of 20 millions metric tons of Gari
per year for a minimal market value (ex-works) of US$ 3,750 billions.

- Interested parties - private African and international investors /
companies, government
agencies,
international development
agencies - to make contact through the Free Access Support Console available at this link